National Gazetteer (1868) - Newcastle upon Tyne

"NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, comprises the parishes of St. Andrew, St. John, St.
Nicholas, and All Saints, county
Northumberland. It is one of the most ancient and distinguished seaports in
Britain, also a post and market town, municipal and parliamentary borough,
and a county of itself, though locally situated in the southern division of
Northumberland, of which it is the county town, 15 miles N. of Durham, 158
S.E. of Glasgow, and 275 N. of London. It has a central railway station in
Neville-street for the joint use of the North-Eastern and
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
and Carlisle railways, also a station in the Manors for the North Shields
section of the North-Eastern line of railway, and several goods stations in
other parts of the town. Constant communication is likewise maintained with
all the chief ports of Great Britain, and many places on the continent of
Europe, America, and the British colonies, by means of powerful steam
vessels and regular traders engaged in the shipping trade, which has more
than quadrupled in the last half century. The port, which is formed by the
Tyne, is capable of admitting seaborne vessels of 400 tons, and has North
Shields and Blythnook as its subparts."

"The town of Newcastle is of great
antiquity, and occupies a commanding position on the northern bank of the
river Tyne, about 9 miles distant from the sea at Tynemouth, where the
river discharges itself into the German Ocean. Opposite to it is Gateshead,
which may be considered a subport of Newcastle, situated on the southern
bank of the Tyne, and in the adjoining county of Durham. Newcastle appears
to have derived its origin from Pons AElii, the second station from the
eastern extremity of the Roman wall built by the Emperor Hadrian in A.D.
120. In 1810, while digging the foundations of the county court-house,
numerous Roman remains were met with, consisting of foundations of walls,
two altars, a well, and a large quantity of pottery. "

"By the Saxons it was
called Monkeceastre, from the number and magnificence of the religious
houses and monastic institutions it contained, and from the strength of its
position became the capital of the Northumbrian kings, who had a palace at
Pandon. As a fortified town it was a place of great strength, being
surrounded by a massive stone wall 2 miles in circuit, 8 feet thick, and 12
high, with a deep fosse 66 feet broad, and lofty towers flanking the gates,
several of which still remain, as also part of the wall and fosse. In 876
it was taken by the Danes under one of their fiercest chieftains, Halfden,
who cruelly burnt the town with its churches and monasteries, putting to
death many of the monks and nuns. "

"Two years after the Norman conquest it
was taken by Edgar Atheling, and Malcolm, King of Scotland, but was retaken
by William the Conqueror, whose son, Robert Curthose, built the "New
Castle" in 1080 on the site of the old citadel, from which castle the town
derived its present name. In the rebellion of Mowbray, Earl of
Northumberland, against William Rufus, this fortress was taken by the king,
and in the reign of Stephen it was held for a short time by the Scots. In
the succeeding reigns of Henry II. and John it was much improved, and
subsequently figures frequently in Border history as the rendezvous of the
English troops preparing for the invasion of the neighbouring kingdom of
Scotland. Under several of the early Anglo-Norman kings it was used as a
mint town. "

"In the reign of Edward I. John Baliol did homage in the "New
Castle" for his crown of Scotland, and in the same reign the town was
rebuilt and walled round. In 1299 it was assaulted by Wallace, and was
attacked, but without success, by David Bruce. In the reign of Charles I.
it was surprised by the Scottish Covenanters under General Leslie, at which
period its population must have been very considerable, as no fewer than
5,000 persons are said to have died here of the plague in 1636. During the
civil war between the king and the parliament it changed hands several
times, but was finally stormed by the Scots under the Earl of Leven, in
October, 1644, while marching to join the parliamentarians in the S. In
1646 King Charles, having surrendered to the Scottish army, was brought by
them from Newark and retained here till 1647, when he was transferred by
the parliamentary commissioners to London. "

"The town was visited by the
plague in 1717, and corn riots took place here in 1740. In the Scottish
rebellion of 1745 the royal troops, under General Wade, occupied the town
previous to their advance into Scotland against the Pretender. It sustained
considerable damage from the floods which inundated the banks of the Tyne
in 1771 and 1815. It is a borough by prescription, having been first
chartered by Henry II., but the first mayor was not chosen till 1251. Under
the Municipal Reform Act of 1835 the old corporation was dissolved, and the
town divided into eight instead of twenty-four wards. It is governed by a
mayor, who enjoys an allowance of £2,000, 14 aldermen, and 42 town
councillors, with the style of "mayor and burgesses of the town and county
of Newcastle-on-Tyne." The Recorder is appointed by the crown, but the
sheriff, who is also returning officer, the town clerk, treasurer, and
other officers, are chosen by the town council. "

"In 1861 it contained 13,979
inhabited houses, with an acreage of 5,730, and a revenue of about £65,000.
The population in 1851 was 87,784, which in 1861 had increased to 109,108.
It has returned two members to parliament since the 27th of Edward III.,
and under the Reform Act includes, besides the old borough, the townships
of Byker, Elswick, Heaton, Jesmond, and Westgate, the number of electors
being about 6,000. The town is well paved and lighted with gas, and
abundantly supplied with pure water from the Whittle Dean water-works. The
old part of the town skirts the river bank, along which stretches an
extensive and convenient quay, 1,620 feet long. This part of the town is
about 2 miles in length, and was until very recently solely composed of
very narrow, crooked streets of old houses, locally called "chares," which
wound in curves up the precipitous slopes of the cliffs on which the upper
or modern town is built, at an elevation of 200 feet above the level of the
river below. "

"Within the last quarter of a century, however, it has
undergone a complete change, and although still inhabited by the poorer
classes of the population, many new streets have been opened, and the old
ones widened, for which purpose all the gates of the old wall, with the
greater part of the towers, as well as many curious old buildings, have
been swept away. In the upper and more modern parts of the town are
spacious streets and squares, as Clayton, Grainger, Gay, Hood, Market,
Nelson, and Shakspeare streets, and Eldon and Charlotte squares, &c., with
regular ranges of buildings of an order far superior to those of most
provincial towns. The houses of the upper town being built of a variety of
freestone, present a massive and substantial appearance, giving ample scope
for architectural adornment; while in the lower town most of the houses are
very ancient, and many of them in the antique gable-fronted style of the
reign of Elizabeth. "

"The principal extension of the town has been on the
northern side, where the corporation have built a new market-house, and
where many new streets of good shops have recently sprung up, connecting
the town with the modern suburb of Brandling village in Jesmond township.
To the W. of the town lies the new suburb of Rye Hill, in the townships of
Westgate and Elswick;, and to the E., near the river, are extensive
warehouses, factories, and other works connected with the commerce and
manufactures of Newcastle. At the top of Grey-street stands the statue of
Earl Grey, surmounting a lofty Ionic column, erected in 1836 to commemorate
the passing of the Reform Act. Few provincial towns have a greater variety
of public and ecclesiastical edifices. The Moot Hall, or county
court-house, is a stone building, erected in 1810 from designs by Stokoe,
at a cost of £52,000. It is situated on an eminence within the castle
precincts, which belong to the county, and measures 144 feet by 72, with a
portico of six Doric columns 28 feet high on the S. front, and a similar
portico of four columns on the N. front. The assizes and sessions for the
county of Northumberland are held in the grand hall, where most of the
county business is transacted, and the ground floor is used as a prison for
the temporary confinement of county prisoners preparatory to their removal
to the county gaol. "

"The Central Exchange in Grey-street, built by Granger,
presents externally the appearance of a triangular pile of Grecian
building, ornamented at each corner by a dome, and fronting respectively
Grey-street, Grainger-street, and Market-street, from all of which it may
be entered; but internally it is composed of two semi-circles about 150
feet by 100, lit by a glass dome, and divided by twelve
Ionic columns, which support the roof. The old exchange and guildhall,
situated in Sandhill, is a spacious stone edifice with a steeple,
originally erected in 1658 by Trollope, at a cost of £10,000, and restored
in 1809. The guildhall, where the borough sessions and county court are
held, occupies the upper story, and is a magnificent court-room 92 feet
long by 30 wide, with a carved oak ceiling and walls elaborately
ornamented. The courtroom of the Merchants Adventurers, now the chamber of
commerce, is adorned with an exquisitely carved mantelpiece and subjects
from Scripture history. On the basement story are the exchange and
news-rooms, and under the arcade of eight Doric columns which support the
eastern front the fish market is held. In the interior of the building are
a statue of Charles II., portraits of Charles II., James II., and George
III., by Ramsey, and of lords Eldon, Stowell, and Collingwood, and in the
mayor's room the "branks," formerly used for the punishment of scolds. The
borough gaol in Carlisle-square is a building of modern erection, with a
central tower, surrounded by a stone wall 25 feet high, and entered under a
massive gateway. "

"The Theatre Royal, situated in Grey-street, is an edifice
of stone, with a portico entrance, and pediment supported by six lofty
stone pillars. The barracks, which cover a space of 11 acres, are situated
in the Ponteland road, and were built in 1806. The "New Castle," once so
famous in history, is still an imposing pile, with walls in some places 15
feet thick, and a tower, or keep, 62 feet by 54, and 80 feet high, lately
used as the county prison. It has been recently restored, and the Norman
chapel, which measures 46 feet by 20, is now used as the Museum of the
Newcastle Society of Antiquaries, rich in local archæological remains, and
Roman and British coins. The moot-hall and outer walls of the castle are
gone, but sufficient remains to show its once impregnable character. "

"Other
public buildings of note are, the corn exchange and music hall, in St.
Nicholas-square; the Royal Arcade, 100 feet by 250, built by Granger; the
custom-house near the quay; the Trinity House in Broad Chare; the new hall
of the Literary and Philosophical Society in Westgate-street, erected in
1825, and containing a library of nearly 30,000 volumes; the literary,
scientific, and mechanics' institutions, and a museum of natural history in
Blackett-street; Neville Hall in Westgate street, belonging to the College
of Medicine, founded in 1851; assembly rooms in Westgate street, with a
ball room 95 feet long by 36 wide; two sets of public baths and washhouses;
the Northern Counties' club house in Eldon-square; a branch of the Bank of
England in Grey-street; the savings-bank in the arcade; besides numerous
commercial banks, insurance offices, hotels, benevolent foundations, and
markets, amongst which last the corn market is deserving of particular
notice. "

"The grandest structure of Newcastle, however, and perhaps in the N.
of England, is the high-level bridge across the Tyne, connecting Gateshead
with Newcastle, constructed by Sir Robert Stephenson at the cost of near
£235,000. This vast work was undertaken with the double object of
connecting the railways on the opposite sides of the Tyne, and at the same
time forming a roadway that should avoid the dangerous approaches to the
Tyne by way of Dean-street. It is 1,375 feet in length between the
triumphal arches, the water way being 512 feet, and its width 32 feet,
supported by six arches of open iron work, which rest on six massive stone
piers 125 feet apart, four rising from the bed of the river, and one at
each side. It is in reality a double bridge, consisting of two roadways,
one 25 feet above the other. The lower roadway, which is 86 feet above high
water, is for foot-passengers and carriages; and the upper bridge, which is
112 feet above the river, is a railway carrying three lines of rails, and
supported on a level 4 feet above the crown of the arches by strong hollow
pillars of cast-iron, resting on the arched ribs, and continued down to the
roadway, which is attached to them, the whole being so bound together by
strong malleable tension rods as to form one inflexible mass. The cast and
wrought iron employed in the construction of the bridge is said to have
weighed above 5,000 tons. Its enormous mass and great height were requisite
to span the deep valleys and to carry the roadway at a sufficient elevation
above high-water level as not to impede the free navigation of the river. "

"A little lower down the river to the W. is the Tyne Bridge, 300 feet long,
sustained by nine arches, and rebuilt in 1781 by Stokoe, at a cost of
£30,000, in place of the half wooden one, which was covered with houses,
and was swept away by the river in 1771. It is now falling rapidly into
decay, and its entire removal would facilitate the navigation of the river
and so benefit the commerce of the town, which owes its commercial
prosperity chiefly to the almost inexhaustible mines of coal in the
surrounding district. The export of this staple commodity commenced so
early as the latter part of the 13th century, but received a check from the
stringent measures of Edward I., which almost abolished the use of coal
fires in London; but in the reign of Charles I. the use of coal was
revived, and the coals and culm now exported from this port alone amount to
above 3,000,000 tons yearly, valued at a million and a half sterling. The
coals are brought down the river in broad vessels called "keels," and are
here reshipped for exportation, the Tyne being thus far navigable by
seaborne vessels, and under the care of the corporation of Newcastle as
conservators. "

"The river side is lined with warehouses, extensive quays,
chemical works, potteries, and iron and lead smelting furnaces. The lofty
chimneys of these works, varying from 150 to 300 feet high, form a striking
feature of the town, and are seen from a great distance. Besides these
there are many other branches of manufacture which, though on a less
extensive scale, are still largely carried on, as oil mills, hardware and
cutlery, coarse and fine earthenware, metallic works of all kinds,
painters' colours, white and red lead, mill for grinding flints used in the
manufacture of glass, copperas, alkali or soda, tar, lampblack, fire
bricks, canvas, cordage, refined salt, harness-making, chemical manures,
retorts and crucibles, turpentine, corn and paper mills, malting
establishments, hemp and wire rope making, extensive coachbuilding yards,
machinery of all kinds, locomotive and marine engines, steam-engines,
railway carriages, and agricultural implements of all kinds, besides yards
for shipbuilding, both in wood and iron. The imports are chiefly wine,
spirituous liquors, tobacco, dried fruits from the S. of Europe, corn,
flour, timber, colonial produce, deals, bark, flax, hemp, seeds, tallow and
hides from the Baltic. "

"By a singular coincidence the first manufactory of
window or crown glass in Great Britain was established at
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, within a few miles of the great monasteries of
Monkwearmouth and Jarrow-on-the-Tyne, where, as we learn from Bede,
ordinary window glass was first used in Great Britain for architectural
purposes. In the year 1616 Admiral Sir Robert Maunsell erected glass works
at the Ouse burn, Newcastle, which were carried on without interruption
till nearly the middle of the present century, when they were closed. When
the British Association first held their meeting in this city, there were
six large crown-glass manufactories in operation on the river Tyne,
producing annually upwards of 7,000,000 feet of window glass. These
manufactories had all ceased to exist in 1863, owing chiefly to the
introduction of sheet-glass into this country, and the comparatively low
price at which plate-glass can be now had, so that in the birth-place of
the art in England there is now not a foot of crown or sheet window glass
manufactured. But a transfer rather than an extinction of the trade has
taken place, for the manufacture of sheet-glass has of late years been
largely increased, and is carried on to a great extent, in the adjoining
district of the river Wear, where the quantity produced by Messrs. James
Hartley & Co. alone is very nearly equal to the entire produce of the six
extinct crown-glass manufactories on the river Tyne. "

"Newcastle gives name
to a deanery in the archdeaconry of Northumberland and diocese of Durham,
and contains nine churches, besides numerous chapels.
The livings are, St. Nicholas, a vicarage,* value £474, in the diocese of
Durham, and gift of the bishop; St. Andrew's, St. John the Baptist's, All
Saints', St. Peter's, St. Ann's, all perpetual curacies in the diocese of
Durham, varying in value from £300 to £150, in the presentation of the
Vicar of Newcastle; also St. Paul's and the new church at Byker, in the
patronage of the crown and bishop alternately; St. Thomas's, and St. Mary
the Virgin's, in the corporation of Newcastle. "

"St. Nicholas's church stands
on an eminence facing the approach to the high-level bridge, and near where
the Roman wall passed. The original structure was built in 1091 by Bishop
Osmund, and given to Carlisle Priory, but was burnt in 1216. The present
one is a cruciform structure, rebuilt in 1359. It is 245 feet long by 73
feet wide, with a pinnacled tower surmounted by a spired lantern on
springers of the time of Henry VI., 194 feet high from the base of the
tower, which contains an illuminated clock and a peal of eight bells.
Attached to the church were formerly ten oratories, and it still contains a
carved choir and stalls, an antique font, a canopied brass of R. Thornton,
bearing date 1429, also a monument to Moises by Flaxman, with an epitaph by
Lord Stowell, and several interesting old tombs of the Percys. The E.
window represents Christ bearing the Cross, and the altar-piece is by
Tintoretto; here also is an illuminated Bible more than 600 years old. On
the S. side of, and adjoining the church of St. Nicholas, is the building
presented to the parish by Sir Walter Blackett in 1736, containing the
libraries of Cousins and Tomlinson, comprising many curious and valuable
theological works. "

"St. Andrew's church stands on the W. side of
Newgate-street, in the north-western quarter of the town, and is said to be
the oldest in Newcastle, having been built before 1219, but it has
undergone repeated alterations and repairs. It has a large low square
tower, and contains the tomb of Sir A. Athol, bearing date 1383, and
several other old monuments, and an altar-piece by Giordiani. "

"St. John the
Baptist's church is a spacious cruciform structure of stone, standing on
the N. side of Westgate-street. It is believed to have been built about
1287, and has an embattled tower crowned with four ornamented pinnacles,
and containing a clock and six bells. The church, which had formerly three
chantries attached, contains a stained-glass window, an ancient font, and
many old monuments, also the tomb of John Cunningham, the poet, who lies
buried in the churchyard. "

"All Saints' church, at the bottom of
Pilgrim-street, near the centre of the town, is a Grecian structure,
rebuilt by Stephenson in 1789 at a cost of £27,000. It has a lofty tower
surmounted by a steeple 202 feet high from the base of the tower, and is
entered under a portico, supported by five columns of the Doric order. The
interior is in form of an ellipse 86 by 72 feet, and the crypt is part of
the old church built in 1286. The register commences in 1600, and contains
the names of William Lord Stowell and the Lord Chancellor Eldon. "

"St.
Peter's church, in Oxford-street, is a Gothic edifice with a tower, erected
in 1843 as a chapel-of-ease to St. Andrew's. St. Ann's church stands on the
N. side of the New-road, near the Ouse burn, and is a stone structure,
rebuilt in 1768 on the site of an ancient chapel of the same name. It has a
square embattled tower surmounted by a light steeple. St. Paul's church,
situated in High Elswick, and the new church at Byke, are stone edifices of
recent erection. The church of St. Thomas-a-Becket is a stone edifice,
erected in 1830. It stands in the Magdalene Meadows, near Barras Bridge,
and has a lofty tower. The church of St. Mary the Virgin, erected in 1858,
is a stone structure, with a tower surmounted by a steeple, and situated in
the Elswick-villa road. "

"The Roman Catholics have a church dedicated to St.
Mary, which was erected in 1843. There are besides about 30 places of
worship belonging to Dissenting congregations, including Wesleyan,
Association, Primitive and New Connexion Methodists, Independents,
Baptists, English, Scotch, United and Reformed Presbyterians, Scotch Kirk,
Free Church, Unitarians, Glassites, Society of Friends, Swedenborgians, and
Jews, providing accommodation for about 16,000 persons. "

"There are many
public schools, the principal one being the Royal Free Grammar school
founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, Mayor of Newcastle, and made a royal
foundation by Queen Elizabeth. It is held in the old hall of St. Mary's
Hospital, built in the reign of James I., and has an income from endowment
of about £500, besides a share in Bishop Crew's 12 exhibitions at Lincoln
College, Oxford, lately abolished, and several exhibitions to Cambridge.
The number of scholars is about 140. Hugh Moises, and Dawes, author of
"Miscellanea Critica," were once head-masters, and many celebrated men have
ranked among its pupils, including W. Elstob, Bishop Ridley, Mark Akenside,
the poet, Chief Justice Chambers, Brand, the antiquary and town historian,
Horsley, the antiquary, and Lords Eldon, Stowell, and Collingwood. "

"There
are also several other foundation schools, as the Trinity House school,
founded in 1712, where mathematics and navigation are taught; the Royal
Jubilee school, established in 1810; besides numerous National, British,
infant, Roman Catholic, Denominational, ragged, and Sunday schools,
situated in different parts of the borough, and partially endowed. "

"The
charitable foundations are numerous, including the hospital for the cure of
contagious fever; the Infirmary, situated in Westgate; two dispensaries,
one in Nelson-street, the other in the New-road; a lying-in-hospital in New
Bridge-street; the Penitentiary in Diana-street; a deaf and dumb asylum,
situated in Charlotte-square; the Victoria Asylum for the blind; the eye
infirmary in Saville-row; the Westgate hospital, founded in 1815 to
commemorate the Peace; the Trinity House, originally founded at the close
of the 15th century, for regulating pilotage, lighthouse dues, &c., and
chartered by Henry VIII. for 26 brethren and sisters, with a chapel,
offices, and school attached; the keelmen's hospital, or benefit society,
founded in 1701 by the bargemen who carry the coal down the Tyne in
"keels," or lighters, to be shipped; St. Mary Magdalene's Hospital, with an
income from endowment of £1,200, but there is not now any residence for the
brethren; the Holy Jesus, or Freemen's Hospital, founded in 1683, with an
income of £600, for the reception of 13 poor men and 37 women, who receive
£1 per month besides coals and clothing; the Hospital of St. Mary the
Virgin, in connection with which new almshouses have recently been erected
in the Elswick-villa road, besides numerous other benevolent and provident
establishments. The annual produce of the local charities amounts to near
£3,000. "

"There are several extramural cemeteries, as Jesmond Cemetery, which
encloses 11 acres; Westgate Cemetery contains about 3 acres, and Ballast
Green about the same. Six weekly and two daily newspapers are published in
the town, viz: the Newcastle Courant and Chronicle on Friday, the Guardian,
Newcastle Journal, Northern Weekly Standard, and North of England
-Advertiser on Saturday, the Northern Daily Express and the Daily
Chronicle. "

"There are in the town several learned societies, as the
Newcastle Society of Antiquaries, the Surtees Society for publishing old
MSS., a fine arts institution established in 1822, literary and law
societies, also benefit societies, subscription and circulating libraries,
and news-rooms supplied with all the London journals and papers. There are
also a botanic and horticultural society, a farmers' club, and a natural
history society, which last has a well-selected museum. Many distinguished
and eminent men have been born at Newcastle; amongst the number may be
mentioned Duns Scotus, who was educated at the convent of Grey Friars in
this city, where also Hugh of Newcastle and Friar Martin were monks;
Nicholas of Durham, the opponent of John Wycliffe; William Elstob, the
divine and antiquary, and his sister, Mrs. Elstob, the Saxon scholar;
Akenside, the poet; Rev. H. Bourne, the local historian; Hutton, the
mathematician; Sir Robert Chambers, chief justice in India; Admiral Lord
Collingwood; the late Lord Chancellor Eldon; Thomas Bewick, the famous wood
engraver; Bulmer, the printer; Scott, the engraver; Dean Holdsworth; G.
Walker; and Grey, author of Memoria Technica. "

"The
principal antiquities include the old castle and town walls described
above, the remains of the Emperor Hadrian's wall, the foundations of Roman
buildings connected with the station Pons Ælii, a Roman well, &c.; the inn
called the "Scotch Arms," in New Nungate, where the Scottish kings lodged;
Anderson's house, built on the site of the Franciscan priory founded by
Henry III., and in which Charles I. was detained prisoner; the monastery of
the grey friars founded in the 13th century, where Duns Scotus was
educated, and given by Henry VIII. to the Earl of Essex, but of this no
traces now remain; also a Benedictine nunnery founded shortly after the
Norman conquest; a Premonstratensian friary; the chapel of St. Lawrence,
presented to the corporation by the Percys in 1549, besides other religious
houses, all traces of which are now fast disappearing by reason of the
improvements recently undertaken in the old town. "

"Newcastle is the seat of
a Poor-law Union co-extensive with the borough, of a superintendent
registry, and of new County Court and excise districts. Races take place
annually in June on a course of 3,162 yards, called the Hotspur Round,
situated on the Moor. Market days are Tuesday and Saturday for corn, but
the cattle and hay markets only on Tuesday. The provision market in
Grainger-street is open daily, as is also the fish market on the Sandhill.
Fairs are held on the first Tuesday in each month for the sale of lean
stock, on the 12th and nine following days of August, and on the 29th and
nine following days of October for horses, cattle, and sheep, and on the
22nd November for pleasure; also statute fairs for hiring farm servants on
the first Tuesday in May and November."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of
Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson (c)2003]